The City of Weyburn hired the firms of ATAP Consulting and Associated Engineering to do a thorough investigation of the city's water system.
The City of Weyburn hired the firms of ATAP Consulting and Associated Engineering to do a thorough investigation of the city's water system.
This announcement was made by city officials on Wednesday at the Weyburn Filtration Plant, and was in response to the latest precautionary drinking water advisory issued by the provincial Ministry of Environment.
"We are committed to focusing city resources on resolving the problem and preventing any further recurrence," said Mayor Debra Button of Weyburn. Both firms have extensive experience with municipal water systems around Saskatchewan.
ATAP Consulting arrived in the city on Thursday, and they will "help our local staff with optimizing the plant, they will make sure everything is running smoothly and will recommend any necessary changes, repairs or upgrades," said Rene Richard, director of engineering for the City of Weyburn.
Associated Engineering will design a disinfecting flushing program. Richard noted that both firms will have to complete their contracts before the precautionary boil water advisory is lifted.
There is no exact date to when the precautionary boil water advisory will be lifted either. "Both of those tasks that we need to perform could be quite variable," said Richard.
"When I heard about this PDWA, the first question on my mind was the same one I'm sure everyone in Weyburn is asking: 'Why is this happening again?' This situation is not acceptable and I intend to get to the bottom of it," said Button. "We will be hiring the best expert advice available to analyze the current water problem and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Higher turbidity levels were first registered at the filtration plant in January, after a retrofitting of new underdrains into plant 200. "We also received a lot of new equipment here, like meters and alarm equipment that we are trying to get the kinks out of too," said Richard.
"Certainly (the precautionary drinking water advisory) isn't any incompetence or anything that was done at the plant. This is stuff that needs to be done, and it is happening in other places too," added Richard. "Anytime turbidity gets higher than regulation, there is a chance that cryptosporidium and giardia can survive."
"Obviously, our number one concern is public health," added Button. "Although we want to resolve the situation quickly, our top priority will be making sure that we are thorough and get the job done right. I will be monitoring this situation closely and I will be reporting regularly as we learn more."
Because of the continued presence of the continued presence of the parasites Cryptosporidium and Giardia, an advisement from Dr. Shauna Hudson, the medical health officer for Sun Country Health Region was released on March 2. "We encouraged residents to follow the precautions issued by the Ministry of Environment to boil water for one minute to reduce their risk of disease."
Grant Paulson, public health inspections supervisor with Sun Country, added "to date, public health surveillance has not identified any increased diarrheal illness in the Weyburn area."
